My Little Pony: Darkness and Dawn
by CrazyNinjaPenguin
Summary: Dazzle is a cheerful if naïve unicorn from Canterlot. After a dark force disrupts the balance of Equestria, she must embark on an adventure with an assortment of friends to discover the truth about the darkness and its connections to her childhood friend.
1. Setting and Characters

**A/N: Welcome**. **This is not the first chapter, but instead some notes to help you with the story since it contains so much original content. If you want to just start reading the story, go to the next chapter. **

This story, _My Little Pony: Darkness and Dawn_ draws its inspiration from the world of _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic._ Moreover it borrows many locations and elements from the setting of the "World of Equestria RP" over at Canterlot (dot) com. This page is just to keep track of places, ponies and everything else this story will offer. A lot of this info (particularly for the setting) is lifted directly from topics at Canterlot because I'm lazy. Credit goes to the original author(s) of the posts I took from.

**Setting**:

**East Equestrian:**

**Cloudsdale:** City in the sky, home to pegasusi, weather factory, flight school, and the sky arena.

**The Great Nimbusgait Lakes:** The great lakes formed below Cloudsdale and their endless supply of pristine water falling from the city. The outside of the woodlands is beautiful and breath taking as the streams and rivers branch out from the lakes. But somepony says the deeper you go the more dangerous it gets... The lakes are a very mysterious place.

**Trottingham:** Just east of Cloudsdale and north of Canterlot they sit tucked in a little open plain by the Solstice Heights foot hills that reach out from Canterlot. This town is made of the finest things. The ponies here know it and act of it, no bigger snobs on the map.

**Solstice Heights:** These small hills and valleys reach all around Canterlot and up north towards Trottingham. Many of the lower class unicorns and ponies live here, only the more upper class and royal families live higher near Canterlot Castle.

**Canterlot:** A castle terrace from the largest mountain in Solstice Heights. This is where Princess Celestia calls home and watched over her little sister Princess Luna. Solstice Heights all around Canterlot are also home to many of the unicorn kin. Also known as the city of knowledge. Most ponies dream of coming to Canterlot to study.

**Whitetail Wood:** Feathering down from Solstice Heights the beautiful tall airy woodland begins that is Whitetail wood. Known for the many deer that roam this forest and said to be quite timid of ponyfolk. The annual running of the leaves is featured through out Whitetail Wood once a year to help change the seasons.

**Hoofington:** A smaller friendly town outside of Whitetail Wood and near the Beaches by Seasaddle bay. Many travelers pass through here while making their way to the island. Sailor ponies are often seen here since the docks are in the Bay. The ponies here keep an open mind.

**Buckingshore Beach:** A large rocky beach, not really recommend swimming here since this is where a lot of the sailor pony's market takes place just off of the bay.

**Seasaddle Bay:** Where all the docks are parked for transport of ponies and product. Lots of ponyfolk and creatures of all social-able sorts can be seen around here. Many of the trade is sold right on Buckingshore Beach, the rest is taken out to the other cities over Equestria.

**Gallopocous Island:** A large island that is a bit of a distance away from the main land. They can see each other clearly from a distance but still to far apart for any pony to swim to the other side. This is a tropical land where bananas, coconuts, coffee beans, and cocoa beans are mostly grown and sold for trade. Many ponies and creatures visit this island as some sort of get-away vacation. Who can blame them? The beaches are clean and beautiful with white sand and clear waters. Any pony would be lucky to live out here if they don't mind the dangers.

**Coralwood Corral:** A town on Gallopocous Island. this is where all the inns and resorts are to be had with tourist friendly markets and restaurants. The people here are always smiling, they are said to have a sunny personality. Lots of sea-loving ponies live here and work doing transports to the main land.

**Thunderhoove Volcano:** The biggest volcano on the island. Thankfully it's completely dormant. The volcano is so huge it takes up 1/4th of the island and reaches high enough into the sky that there is snow at the peak. Many risk loving pones try to climb it, only few have ever made it to the top. Even fewer made it back down.

**Fireyfoal Volcano:** The only other volcano on the island, just big enough to look like a bubbling red jacuzzi it is actually a big tourist attraction to see a living volcano. Though the dangers are still very real there is always a natural disaster watch of ponyfolk on on the job monitoring the little volcano.

**Central Equestria:**

**Roughrider Ridge:** The rocky edges of the ridge have a canyon like split where open ground is available to creatures to survive on meager means. This ridge divides the west and central maps locking away the major sources of water so desperately needed in the land over. It is a very dangerous place for normal ponyfolk to go...

**Beakbreak City:** The biggest city in the Ridge, it is dark and dirty. The empowered hoof of Celestia hasn't much to say in these parts and ponies know it. More than just ponies live in this city, it's home for many of the hippogriffs and other creatures of equestria who are which considered to be monsters to most. This is not a place a pony should go walking alone in, one might run into some trouble...

**Bareback Gulch:** A smaller town down in the ridge, this you can picture a lot like an old western town. Shabby and beat up after years of hardship, the creatures here are tough and cynical like the land around them, Not many ponyfolk. There is no such thing as hope, it is just a day to day living basis. The ones who stay are to stubborn to leave, the ones who try to leave almost never make it. Only the most daring of travelers visit this little dirt town.

**Dragon's Mountain:** The tallest mountain on the central map. Just near the base is the path to get into Roughrider Ridge. It is said that the Dragon's keep holds treasures beyond your wildest dreams, only the bravest of ponies dare attempt such a feat.

**Foggy Bottom Bay:** One of the more slummy water ways that is kept near the Everfree Forest and Dragon's Keep. The land is nothing more than weeds and mud, the air is foul, the foliage turned wicked... Strange creatures lurk in these mucky waters, it's said a Hydra dwells deep in the bay.

**Everfree Forest:** Deep and dark this forest creeps out onto the land from the rocky ridge to the west. Somehow without the pony's help this forest manages to live and thrive on its own. As do the dangerous creatures inside of it. Anypony fool enough to come in more than likely won't be coming out... Zecora lives in a tree just a ways into the forest. Near the ridge and Dragon's mountain the Ursa's Cavern sits quietly. And further down the Moon Castle ruins lay rotting in the darkness.

**Ponyville:** Home to most plain ponyfolk this town thrives on social society. Here is presently where the main cast lives. There features a Library, Marketplace, Sugar Cube Corner, Boutique, Bath house, Sweet Apple Acres Farm, and much more from this little pony town. The ponies here are very friendly and social-able, if you were going to make a friend it would probably be the place to do it.

**Saddleveiw Plains:** Out past the stretch of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest starts the rolling plains and flat land. The wind carries over it from the sea below and it seems that all land and sky are at peace with one another. More peaceful creatures and beasts can be seen roaming the plains.

**Fillydelphia:** A bigger of a city for ponyfolk, even bigger than Ponyville. But more than just ponies live here. Lots of social-like creatures thrive in Fillydelphia. The ponies here are accustomed to it and often socialize with them. Big city with lots of opportunity here.

**Sandtrot Beach:** Just off of the Saddleveiw Plains and a trot away from Fillydelphia this is one of the most active sandy beaches in Equestria. A long stretch of sand and blue waters, lots of ponies enjoy the beach experience here.

**Western Equestria:**

**Raptorclaw Canyon:** A large clash in the earth that leave wide open rocky cliffs with terrace openings to the dark insides. The walls of the canyon are warm to look at as the colors ride through the rocks, if this place wasn't so dry and wasted it could be considered beautiful.

**Talonopolis:** The largest city of Griffin civilization built into the very walls of Raptorclaw Canyon. This is the most prosperous griffin city in the west. They are Equestria's leading city in industrialism. The three leading family names Razorclaw, Silverbeak, and Goldplume all run the companies and iron working in Talonopolis. The city is very strict on keeping other creatures out, they don't care for non-griffin kind. But over some years of work they've come to accept few other creatures into their city to help with the work load. The once beautiful painted canyon is now stained with soot and muck from the excess of their work. The buildings and factories build up and away from the griffin homes which are safe inside of the canyon walls from the heavy smoke and pollution around them.

**Rockwington:** Another smaller city out a ways into the canyon, partially in the ground but mostly standing rock buildings cover the open ground of the bottom of the canyon. This is a more likely place to see a pony rather Talonopolis since they're rather exclusive with their kind. Other tougher creatures also live and thrive in this town making a means of the land around them. This place being similar to Talonopolis for their iron working they actually take it into a more artistic fashion. Here they have long open markets and all sorts of trades available to all folk, ponies, griffins, or creatures.

**Painted Pinto Desert:** A large expanse of bad lands and sand reaching from the Roughrider Ridge all the way to Raptorclaw Canyon. Almost nothing survives out here except the cacti and random desert creatures. It is said there are many lost treasures out in the desert but you would be a fool to go and search for them.

**Appleloosa:** Out of all the western towns and cities, this has to be the friendliest. Here is where ponies of the hard dry west thrive. They live with relatively good ease considering they live between the desert, cliffs, and plains. Rather rough terrain for most of the soft hooved ponies of Eastern Equestria. The ponyfolk here are very tolerant and open to new creatures around them, they have even come to accept the native buffalo heards to stampede through their apple orchards.

**Neighple Marsh:** Finally the land becomes moist and green again. Beating with life the wildlife here takes care of it's own on this side of the map, frogs, bugs, small animals... Even most serpents enjoy the land here as they slink in the marshes. Lots of grass and shallow water ways as the fish swim through. This is where most supplies is gathered from for the cities above that require hunting and water gathering teams. But even then lots of creature and griffin folk live on the outer reaches of the marsh making a living with fish farms and crops to sell into the bigger cities. This is more of a moist country side for them.

**Soggalong Swamp:** Deep into the marsh land the water deepens and thickens with more forestry. Here the bigger creatures live in a more feral state and considered to be highly dangerous of an area for griffin or pony to go. Even those who live in the area warn friends to stay well away. The things that lurk in the swamp were not meant to be seen by the light of day.

**Clopton Shore:** This isn't a very pretty shore line, it's dull and almost always cloudy. The winds tug and pull at the land and sea, the sand is thick with muddy clay. But this is a wonderful resource for the people in this land who often come here to harvest the claw into making useful tools and objects. Very few creatures live out on the shores here.

**Reigntight Sea:** A sea of which no pony has ever crossed. No one knows what lies out there... Even the greatest of dragons seem to avoid this line.

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><p><strong>Important terms: <strong>(this is a spot for me to define plot elements not defined in the show; pretty much all the REA/military setup comes courtesy of Diomedes at the Canterlot forums, and is being used with his permission. Info will be added as it becomes relevant to the story):

**Royal Equestrian Army**: The Royal Equestrian army is a small cadre of regulars augmented by militia volunteers. Combat tactics rely on strength of individual soldiers and use of force multipliers such as unicorn mages and Pegasus weather control to offset enemy advantages such as superior griffon numbers and superior dragon firepower. Despite their dominance in melee and territorial occupation, lack of ranged firepower and overall airmobility continues to be a hindrance to REA combat effectiveness.

Special operations forces (SOF) in the form of the **Honor Guard** are nonpareil. SOF units rely on surgical strikes and strategic application of force to win wars, even if individual battles are lost. All army levels are of mixed composition, with some units favoring one species of pony over another depending on their mission. For example, reconnaissance units may favor Pegasi, Heavy infantry may favor Earth ponies, and certain Honor Guard orders may prefer unicorns.

**REA Garrison Forces**: Garrison forces are purely defensive in nature. The highest concentration of Garrison forces are present in Canterlot, though small units maintain a presence in larger cities such as Manehattan and Fillydelphia. Smaller towns rely on their militia for protection.

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><p><strong>Key Characters (in order introduced):<strong>

**Dazzle Dawn:** the hero of the story. A bright unicorn pony with a sunny disposition attending Canterlot University as a student. Though a bit of an airhead, she is hard working and ultimately compassionate. Her pelt is deep blue and her mane is green and cut kind of short and stylish. She had a rising sun as her cutie mark.

**Arcana**: Dazzle's childhood friend. Also a unicorn and also a student of Canterlot University. Dour and jaded from a life which hasn't always been fair to her, Dazzle is her only friend. She has vanished without a trace. Her pelt is a very dark pink and her mane is dark gray and long. A swirl of black fire is her cutie mark. She typically wears a pointed black hat and a matching black scarf as accessories.

**Hopesong**: A cheerful, if lonely young pegasus filly in tune with nature. She fears nothing more than worrying or upsetting her mother. Loves reading, singing and playing with her pet cat Sable. Her pelt is light green and her mane is pinkish-red and wavy. She doesn't have a cutie mark yet.

**Midnight Brand:** A somber and distant Earth pony, once famed as a ruthless soldier in the Equestrian Royal Army. Retired from service now, she tends to her beloved daughter, Hopesong, trying desperately to hide from her past darkness while being forced to rely on her old talents to find the money to raise her child. Her pelt is very dark green while her mane is bright yellow and wavy. Her cutie mark is a sword at an angle shrouded in darkness. As an accessory she usually wears some sort of cloak

**Radiant Steel**: A newly appointed member to the Equestrian Royal Army Garrison Forces. This pegasus is a proud and unforgiving fighter as tough as the armor she wears. That is until you show her something cute... Her pelt is white and her mane is long and very red. Her cutie mark is a sturdy shield with a silver and black stripe across it. Typically she wears armor. Either the golden ceremonial armor of the Garrison Force or, when in the field, a more combat friendly matte gray armor. She foregoes head protection in both cases though.

**Rufous Steeledge: **A strict and militant aged pegasus of the REA Garrison Forces. He is a major by rank and is respected far and wide in the army. Perhaps too focused on his job, his standing with his family has become somewhat marred, especially with his three children. Has a white, scarred pelt and a very short red mane. Almost always wears the ceremonial gold guard armor.

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><p><strong>Borrowed Characters<strong>: These are RP characters designed by the great people at Canterlot (dot) com who I have received permission to include in this story in cameo/small roles. Massive thanks to anypony who let me use a character! I will add ponies (and non-ponies) to this list as I use them in the story.

**Stormsong**: A unicorn mare working as proprietor of a restaurant called La Fleur Canterlot in the heart of Canterlot. Her true passion however is music, and she wishes to pass the restaurant on to her younger siblings when they're of age to handle it. She is quite shy around other ponies, to the point where she doesn't care to perform music publicly. She has a blue pelt and a long silver mane. Her cutie mark is four black sixteenth notes, beamed together by two white lightning bolts. Stormsong was designed by Armony.

**ShadowMist: **A unicorn filly who is almost a mare yet still has no cutie mark. She lives in Ponyville but is very often seen in Canterlot. She works at the Ponyville library with Twilight Sparkle, and is often responsible for taking books to and from the Twilight's library and the Princesses' castle library. Shy and kind of lonely, she hasn't really found her place in the world. She has a black pelt and a short silver mane. ShadowMist was designed by MyLittlePonyTales.


	2. Darkness is Frightening

A/N: Alright, welcome. Thank you for joining me for this story. I hope you do enjoy. This should be a fun story. So unlike anything I've written before. There will be no sex and not even really any romance. It'll be kind of dark when compared to the show, since it's more action/adventure focused, but there's definitely nothing particularly Grimdark about this story. It's all ponies, adventure, friendship and a little danger. Hopefully it is fun for you.

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><p>"Follow me!" called a small blue unicorn foal with a cheerful giggle as she raced towards the woods nearby. Freshly fallen leaves crunched beneath her hooves while Celestia's sun was well on it's way down in the sky above.<p>

"B-but..." another young unicorn, this one pink, started as she stared ahead, stuck in place. "It's scary to go any further... It's dark in there..."

The blue foal stepped toward her friend and smiled. She nodded. "Come on, Arc! When we're together there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"I don't know, Dazz..." the pink unicorn said, shivering a little. "Something just really doesn't feel right..." She gave a large gulp, as she shivered fearfully. "I don't think Mama would like me going into the woods this late at night."

The blue pony giggled softly. "But you're the one who really wanted to see him, Arc!"

"Yeah... but..." the pink foal timidly spoke. "I didn't know it would be just us going..."

"Trust me," said the smiling blue unicorn. "This'll so be worth it! He's just so cute..."

"W-well... I do really want to see..." the timid unicorn stammered.

"Then follow me!" the energetic foal called as she skipped ahead. "I remember the way perfectly from when I was with my parents."

"Okay..." said the pink unicorn, finally managing to propel her body slowly forward after her friend. As they started to walk into the forest, she gave a long sigh.

"What is it?" asked the blue pony, tilting her head in curiosity at the first sign of distress on her companion's face.

"It's just... Mama's always busy..." said the pink unicorn. "She never has time to do fun things with me like have picnics in the woods."

The blue unicorn laughed and smiled at her friend. "Then I'll just have to ask my parents to take you with us next time we come out here!"

"Dazz..." the other foal choked on her words, clearly touched. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Of course, Arc! You're my best friend ever," the blue pony replied at once as the two continued trotting through the woods.

"How much further is it? " asked the timid foal as they started to move over a small hill.

"Not far from here. We saw him right around the river, just up ahead!" the blue one answered, nodding firmly.

"And what if he's not there?" asked the pink pony, clearly worried.

"Then we'll just have to come back another time to find him, " the blue foal responded bouncily.

"Okay..." the pink foal said, forcing a smile.

The two fell silent for just a while. The sounds of the woods caused the pink pony to slowly come to trot closer and closer to her blue friend. Moments passed in relative silence as the sun set fully overhead. Creatures of all sorts could be heard all around, filling the lush woods with their music. The two young ponies continued forward until they found themselves at a picturesque corner of the woods where a small spring fed a gentle stream. The blue foal rushed forward upon seeing this.

"He should be around here," she said cheerfully, as she bounced around, looking frantically for the small animal they sought.

"It's..." the pink pony started, perfectly still as she beheld the spring, illuminated all too gently by the moon peeking down from above. "Beautiful..."

"This is my first time seeing it at night too," said the other foal, giggling. "It really does look nice!"

"I don't even care if I see that puppy now," said the pink unicorn, stunned.

"Hey, but that's why we came!" the blue unicorn protested. "I thought you really liked animals too, especially strange ones."

"Yeah..." said the timid pony. "But seeing this with you has already made it worth it, Dazz."

"Oh, I see," said the blue pony smiling happily as she trotted back toward her friend. "But I still want to see him again..." She gave a small pout.

"Dazz..." the pink pony suddenly started after a few moments of silence. "Have you ever felt lonely?"

"Sometimes," the blue pony smilingly responded. "But I have my mom and dad. And you and everypony else, Arc. So it always just goes away."

The pink pony just stared ahead. She smiled awkwardly. "If I didn't have you and Mama... I'd be all alone," she said softly. "Promise me you won't go anywhere, Dazz."

"Of course I won't, silly," said the blue pony, grinning fully. "You're my best friend ever!"

"Then I guess I have nothing to worry about," the other pony said as she gave the slightest smile.

"Good, then let's go find the p-" the blue unicorn started to say.

Then, suddenly, something changed. All color seemed to vanish from the world in a second. The wind stopped blowing. The trees, the ground, the clouds and the water of the spring and stream all seemed to vanish into nothingness, leaving only a colorless void behind. The moon exploded to several times its size, becoming an ominous swirling cloud of black. The blue unicorn turned to look at her friend. Gray flames extended from her, swirling all around, gradually becoming bigger, gradually moving faster as they encircled them both.

"Arc! What is this!" the blue foal shouted, desperation filling her voice.

Slowly the foal before her changed shape. She grew spontaneously, her shape changing to that of a filly, her gray mane growing longer and darker with each passing second.

"You lied to me, Dazzle," said the pink pony, a cold darkness in her eyes.

"I never... Arc! I-I..." the pony shook her head, confused and scared. "What's happening to you?"

"No..." the dark flame wrapped unicorn replied. Suddenly she grew even more, her body aging to that of a young mare, a pointed hat and scarf, both as black as night, appearing on her from nowhere. "You were never what I thought... You were never what I needed."

"Arc!" the blue pony, still a foal, shouted. "Stop this! I..."

The pink pony's body slowly began to float upwards as if being levitated. The blue pony could only watch as the massive black cloud began to move ominously toward her friend. Blackness extended from it like tendrils, wrapping around the pink pony, pulling her closer and closer to the cloud.

"No!" the blue pony screamed as she ran through the void, toward her friend. As much as she ran, she never seemed to get any closer. "Come back, Arc! Please, don't go!"

"Good bye, Dazzle Dawn. It's been fun," said the pink pony with one final slight smile as she gave let the darkness have her, more dark tendrils worming their way around her form until hardly a trace of pink was visible. Dazzle Dawn could only stand and watch as the other pony was then consumed by the dark cloud entirely, leaving nothing behind.

* * *

><p>"No! Arc!" the pony shouted. Her eyes shot open. Dazzle didn't understand anything at first. Where was she? She looked around. It became familiar at once. She was in her own bed in her familiar Canterlot dorm room. Startled and frightened by the dream she had just had, she stood up at once and moved away from the bed. She let out some heavy panted breaths as she stared into a nearby mirror.<p>

Yep. It was a fully grown mare with a bright blue pelt and a stylish green mane that stared back at her. She was kind of small and silly looking, but she was far from the little foal she had once been. The sun peeking over the horizon was right there on her flank. She was Dazzle Dawn, a cheerful student at Canterlot University, studying her hardest to learn how best to help others. Many, many years had passed since that night she had just seen in her dreams.

Though Dazzle supposed that was a bit of a misnomer. While up to a point her dream had been a simple vivid recollection of a nice memory she had long forgotten, the last bit certainly wasn't something that had ever actually happened. Dazzle really kind of hated such scary things. She didn't usually have nightmares either, so it was kind of weird. It also made her kind of sad.

"Just where did you go, Arc?" asked Dazzle giving a long sigh.

The other pony from her dream was named Arcana. She had been Dazzle's close friend since they were both foals. Though they had to separate for a while after Dazzle's family had to move, the two of them had reconnected when, by some wonderful coincidence, they both ended up attending the university together. This had made Dazzle really happy, until one day Arcana just suddenly vanished without a word to anypony. Almost a year had passed since then, and while most ponies seemed unconcerned, Dazzle didn't go a day without thinking of her friend.

However, Dazzle wasn't going to let it get her down. Arcana wouldn't want to see her sad. Dazzle didn't like being sad anyway. Nope. Dazzle was going to go to class and have a good day like usual. Nodding, the cheerful unicorn moved to freshen herself up and prepare for the day ahead with a smile on her face.

Before she knew it, Dazzle was outside her dorm building, trotting quietly down the streets of Canterlot. She offered a kind smile to everypony she passed on her way. She smiled as her eyes fell upon La Fleur Canterlot, a modest restaurant that happened to be on the way to the university. It was convenient, had tasty food, nice ponies and was full of pleasant music, so Dazzle would often stop in for breakfast when she could.

Grinning to herself, she entered the restaurant quietly. As she was seated by a shy young unicorn mare and handed a menu, Dazzle felt content. Her nightmare was all but gone from her mind. She was sure it was going to just be another pleasant day.

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><p>A young pegasus, just barely a filly, was skipping around happily beneath a tree chasing a small black cat. A sad-eyed earth pony mare draped in a dusty brown cloak stood nearby with a weary look upon her face as she watched the child. Saying goodbye was always the hardest part for both of them.<p>

"Alright, Hopesong," said the mare, shaking her head so her wavy bright yellow mane went in her eyes. "It's time for me to go..."

"Okay, mom," said the pink-maned filly, stopping the pursuit of her cat to look up at her mother. "It won't be too long this time, will it?"

"No," said the mother with a certain somberness to her voice. "I should be back in just a few weeks."

"Good," said Hopesong smiling cutely at the older pony. No matter how long, it was always kind of lonely for the filly to be away from her mother.

"I promise I'll get you something nice," said the mare, nodding to her child.

"Alright!" said the pegasus eagerly. "I can't wait to see it!" In truth, the little filly valued the time she spent with her mother more than any gift the other would bring her from her travels. Saying things like that just made her mother sad though, so she tried to avoid it.

The earth pony smiled ever so slightly at the other's eagerness. Hopesong liked seeing her mother smile. It was rare, but really so nice. Hopesong was almost so focused on that little smile that she missed something happening in the background. As it were, she just barely caught it in the corner of her eyes. Her eyes went wide at what she saw.

Hopesong and her mother lived in the Roughrider Ridge, a secluded mountainous area home mainly to non-ponies, ponies who didn't favor lots of company, and ponies who didn't want anypony to find them. Separating it from peaceful pony places like Canterlot and Ponyville was a very dark and scary place Hopesong had been told to always avoid: the Everfree Forest. It was from where this ominous forest was visible in the distance that it happened.

Very suddenly, from out of the frightening forest, a cloud of purest blackness erupted high into the sky above. It exploded violently up into the air, filling it like a massive cloud that covered the entire forest. Hopesong was instantly terrified.

"What's... what's happening...?" she tremblingly started. "Mom..."

Hopesong's mother turned around at once upon seeing fear on her child's face. Shock entered her own sad eyes as she stared at the unnatural dark cloud. She clearly didn't know what to make of it either.

"What in the world...?" she spoke, exasperated. "I've never..."

Echoing roars then sounded from nearby. Hopesong timidly looked about. Then she saw them. Two manticores were approaching them rapidly from the direction of the forest! Hopesong noticed quickly that something was amiss with them. Their eyes were glowing red and they had taken on a very strange purplish hue. Hopesong could swear she sensed suffering from them.

"Hopesong! Get back!" shouted the earth pony, as she galloped ahead.

Hopesong could only stand and watch as her mother charged the two manticores. With lightning speed and strength matched by few ponies, the mare passed one of the manticores, stopped and bucked it ruthlessly in the face. Hopesong cringed at the thought of the poor creature's pain as it fell over, instantly unconscious.

The second manticore then pounced at the earth pony, hunger in its unnaturally red eyes. It missed the pony's flesh, but its claws took hold of the cloak she was wearing, ripping it from her body, revealing her cutie mark. Hopesong had only ever seen it a few times. Her mother usually covered it up out of shame. Her name was Midnight Brand and that's just what her mark, a sharpened sword wrapped in darkness, was to her. It was a brand. It stood there in testament to all the darkness and violence that clouded her past, reminding her painfully of her past mistakes. Or that's what she had told Hopesong at least.

Anger appearing in her eyes, Midnight lowered her head and stomped her hoof to the ground. Furiously she charged, throwing her entire weight into the side of the manticore before it had time to swipe at her again. It went flying a fair distance and collapsed to the ground, whimpering. Midnight raced toward it and delivered a hoof to its chest, causing it to pant loudly. She then lifted her hoof again to strike another blow.

"No, mom!" Hopesong called, flying forward. "You already hurt him enough..."

"Hopesong...?" Midnight stopped herself, lowing her hood as she looked at the filly and then back at the manticore. The manticore didn't seem like it was going to get up. "I'm sorry..."

"What's wrong with them?" the filly asked, scared. As she watched the manticores in their pain, slowly she could see the purple color fade and the red gradually leave their eyes. "They usually don't act like this...?"

Midnight just stared over at the black cloud, still lingering in the sky. "Go inside, Hopesong. Take Sable with you."

"But mom-!" Hopesong started, troubled and shaking. "What about you?"

"My trip is cancelled," the other simply replied. "Whatever all this is, there's no way I'm leaving you at its mercy."

"Okay..." said Hopesong, nodding solemnly. Normally she'd be happy to have her mother stay with her... but this all seemed really scary. She stared out at the black cloud. From it, suddenly something shot forth. It was like a shooting star made entirely of black, flying swiftly across the daytime sky, headed east.

"Please! Go now, Hopesong!" Midnight called out desperately. Hopesong nodded and flew back.

"Come along, Sable," she said as she swooped in to gather up her cat with her hooves. That done, with one final glance at her mother, Hopesong flew back to the modest mountain hermitage her and her mother called home.

* * *

><p>Radiant Steel was furious. She had just been chewed out by a superior officer for misconduct and yet now her father had called on her, obviously just to give her the same speech she had already heard, only this time in much more demeaning terms. Damn that stallion! He was so stiff, hard-headed and unreasonable. Radiant hated always being treated like a little filly by him. It was just insufferable.<p>

"You wanted to see me, father?" she started, already scowling as she entered an all too familiar office inside the headquarters of the Royal Equestrian Army at Canterlot.

The aging white pegasus stallion was standing inside, waiting for her with a disapproving frown on his face. Despite being off duty, the golden ceremonial armor of the Garrison Force was displayed proudly on his large, muscled body.

"I've told you a thousand times, private," the stallion growled. "You are to address me as Major Steeledge under these conditions!"

"Yes, Major," Radiant replied with a less than satisfied snarl.

"I hear you assaulted an innocent pony on night watch duty again," Radiant's father started, disapproval in his stare as he looked upon the other pegasus.

"She refused to answer my questions! Then she mocked the Princess!" Radiant shouted firmly, fuming mad.

"Stupid child!" the powerful Rufous Steeledge bellowed. "That is not a reason enough to harm a pony! Know your place! The golden armor is a symbol of our responsibility! It does not permit us to bully others in our own misguided quest for justice!"

"It wasn't about me!" Radiant protested vehemently. "It was about the Princess."

"Princess Celestia does not need you to fight her battles for her, Radiant!" the stallion shouted. "The Princess is more than capable of standing up for herself."

"But I can't simply ignore-" Radiant started to protest, her long red mane flailing about as she shook her head.

"You need to learn how then!" the mare's father cut her off to roar. "This is already the third time something like this has happened! If you weren't my own child it's almost certain you'd have been dismissed by now!"

"But, fath-" Radiant cut herself off. "Major Steeledge... Am I truly expected to abandon my pride? I do everything for Equestria, the REA and Her Majesty the Princess!"

"Where is the rest of your armor, private?" Rufous asked, seemingly out of nowhere. Radiant was taken aback.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Radiant shouted. She was wearing her golden armor proudly on her back and on her hooves. It was only the helmet she had foregone. It had always just never suited her. It was uncomfortable and caused her mane to stick to her.

"That armor is a symbol of Equestria's might," said the major with force. "It is not something to be customized to fit your style."

"I understand that!" Radiant started, shaking her head. "I just don't see what that has to d-"

"Do you really, Radiant?" Rufous demanded, indignation in his bellowing voice. "I'm beginning to wonder if you just weren't quite ready for this!"

"I am ready!" Radiant shouted. "I passed every entrance test with flying colors! You'll find nopony more committed to the ideals of the Royal Equestrian Army than I!"

"You clearly still don't understand how it works, Radiant!" Rufous shouted, anger distorting his aged face.

"Fine! Maybe I'm not cut out to be an REA regular after all!" Radiant started with a huff, not letting her father intimidate her. She was used to him. If he was going to treat her like this, she'd just have to turn it back on him. "Maybe I should be like Dagger and join the Honor Guard instead! Maybe he could get me a place in The Shroud with him..."

"You'd dare bring up that worthless, ungrateful brother of yours?" Rufous now seemed furious. Radiant wondered if she hadn't pushed his buttons a little too hard.

"Oh? And why shouldn't I? He's your son, you know?" Despite herself, Radiant decided to push even harder. "You know? Part of that family you spend all day here ignoring?"

"You will not talk to your father like that!" Rufous shouted, stomping toward the mare.

"Father? But I thought you were supposed to be Major Steeledge right now?" Radiant replied with a mocking edge.

Her father stomped, grunted and fumed. "That's it!" he roared, well past his breaking point. "I will not raise a single hoof for your sake any longer! If you are to be dismissed for this offense, then so be it! It would be a lie for me to vouch that Celestia needs such a churlish, naïve foal protecting her!"

"Fine by me!" Radiant responded, bitter. "I don't need you standing up for me to survive!"

"Get out!" Rufous shouted finally, having had enough. Radiant laughed in disgust and turned to leave. She slammed the door behind her as she did.

Radiant had a bit of a stomp to her trot as she moved through the REA building. She was still angry. She felt like hitting something, but she couldn't find anything good to strike her hooves against. Her father really did know just how to get under her skin. She'd show him. Someday she'd surpass even him in her service to the Princess! She'd do it without his help too!

As she found her way outside, Radiant was still mad. They argued a lot. This was one of the worse ones, but it was very far from the first. Radiant didn't understand that old stallion at all. He seemed to devote every waking hour to his military career while practically ignoring her mother and Radiant and her siblings. Radiant didn't know how her mother tolerated him. He was just impossible. The most annoying part of it all in Radiant's opinion was that he never followed through on anything. This was not the first time he had said he'd stop supporting Radiant's military career. In all likelihood this probably wouldn't be the last.

Furious, Radiant gave up looking for something to hit. With all her might, she just slammed her hoof into the ground below. Something she never would have thought was possible then occurred. The ground began to shake violently under her hooves. Radiant wondered for a moment if the shear force of her anger had somehow triggered an earthquake. It took her a minute to realize this was stupid and impossible. It took her another minute to realize she was a symbol of authority in the middle of a strange, potentially dangerous freak occurrence. She stomped forward rapidly intent on protecting whoever could.

"Everypony stay calm!" Radiant barked out into the streets so everypony in earshot would hear. "Grab onto something!"

Ponies began to run around in fear despite Radiant's order. She couldn't rightly blame them. Earthquakes didn't happen in Canterlot. This was just bizzare. The strangeness was apparently only just getting started though. The screams of the ponies around her got louder. Radiant looked around frantically again and saw this time that an absolutely giant black wolf was rushing down the streets. It's form was tainted purple with bright glowing red eyes. Suddenly, even Radiant was a little scared. Swallowing her fear and mustering all the courage she had, Radiant rushed forward.

"Stop right there, beast!" she shouted to the wolf, several times her own size, as she tried to tackle it.

She struck her powerful armored hooves against it again and again. She had just been wishing for something to hit, but now that she had just that she was quite far from pleased. The beast would not go down. Her hooves seemed to cause it only minimal pain. It gnashed at her with its jaws. Radiant flew up in the air to get away from it. She then dived at it with her plated hooves held out. It jumped out of the way before she could strike it. Then it leapt speedily at her.

Radiant thought for a moment it had her, but the feel of its claws on her smooth white pelt did not reach her. Instead, a single armored figure tackled the beast mightily to the ground and began to pummel it into submission. It was Radiant's father.

"F-father..." Radiant started, gasping for air. Shocked to see him come to her rescue immediately after such an intense argument.

"What are you doing, child!" Rufous shouted back at her. "Get moving. It's our duty to ensure everypony is safe!"

"Yes sir, Major!" Radiant replied after blinking several times. "I'm on it!"

Radiant began to run in the opposite direction down the still quaking streets of Canterlot while she left her father to deal with the wolf. Her mind was blank. Her only concerns were protecting anypony she could. She looked frantically from pony to pony, looking for somepony distressed. Then something else caught her eyes.

As she stared toward the castle towering pristinely in the distance, suddenly she understood what was causing the quake. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. It was impossible. She stared in awe, for a moment forgetting her duty.

* * *

><p>"Oh my Celestia! W-what's going on?" a voice suddenly shouted from outside.<p>

Dazzle responded to it at once. When the earthquake started her first instinct was to help keep everything in the restaurant from breaking, but now it seemed like there was a pony in distress. Nothing was more important than helping others. The young unicorn moved swiftly to answer the call. Another blue unicorn mare, this one an employee of the restaurant with musical notes as her cutie mark, rushed out with her to see what was causing the commotion. Outside the restaurant, Dazzle ound a unicorn filly with a black pelt and a short silver mane staring ahead, aghast.

"What's wrong?" Dazzle asked, rushing to the filly's side. "Are you hurt...?"

"I don't think that's it," the unicorn from the restaurant said in a shy, quiet voice. "Look!"

Dazzle followed the unicorn's hoof ahead to see what the two of them we're seeing. She almost couldn't believe it. There in the distance, Canterlot castle stood being engulfed whole from the bottom up by something. Dazzle didn't know what it was. It was like some kind of strange purple, crystal-like substance. It seemed to be what was causing the earth to shake as it extended upward rapidly.

"What in the world is that?" asked the filly, still staring blankly ahead with wide eyes.

"I don't know," said Dazzle, shaking her head. "What about the princesses?"

"I haven't seen a single sign of them," the young pony shook her head in response.

"This is terrible," said the other mare, looking rather shocked herself. "That means they're both probably still inside."

"What could be causing something so horrible?" Dazzle asked, only able to stare ahead in terror. She tried to think of a way to stop it from happening, but quite clearly such things were beyond the young unicorn mare.

"I've never heard about anything like this," the filly started, clearly distressed. It was apparent none of the unicorns assembled there knew what to do.

Then something happened to make things even worse. Suddenly a large, purple wolf appeared from the corner street and started to approach them with hunger in its unnaturally red eyes.

"Oh my..." the musically inclined pony started quietly, clearly more than a little alarmed.

"Gotta be like Twilight... gotta think of something... " the black-pelted filly murmured frantically to herself as she seemed to rack her brain for a solution to the problem of the encroaching beast.

The wolf lunged at them suddenly. All three unicorn horns lit up at once, erecting an invisible wall of magical force to push the beast back. The wolf's strength was incredible though. Dazzle was giving it everything she had and she was sure the other two were doing just the same, yet she could feel her strength waning. She wouldn't be able to hold out long term.

Inevitably, the magic gave out and the beast forced its way through with its immense might. Dazzle screamed for her life as the wolf's claws reached toward her, ready to slice into her. Then, all of a sudden, the wolf was thrown violently back, hit by a blur of red, white and gold charging at incredible speed. Dazzle stared ahead, stunned.

It was one of the many guards who kept the streets of Canterlot safe. Unlike most of them, she was a mare and not a stallion. Her mane was long, flowing and red. Anger and determination filled her expression as she struck blow upon blow on the wolf.

"I can't believe more than one of you broke through," the guard pony snarled at the beast as she pounded it with her hooves until it was unconscious. "At least your smaller than your friend..."

"How could something so dangerous break through Canterlot's defenses?" the music mare questioned, shyness still in her voice as she approached the guard pony. "I don't know!" the guard mare shouted. "All we do know is that they have, so now we have to deal with them!"

"The wolf, the earthquake, the castle... All of this has to be connected somehow," the filly started, shaking her head. "I can't believe any of this is happening..."

"The castle..." the shy mare started, looking back over at it. Dazzle followed her eyes to find that Canterlot castle was now completely enveloped in the dark crystal. With it completed, the earthquake had ceased.

"Could this possibly get any worse?" the filly muttered in a low voice.

It was then that Dazzle spotted something flying from the castle. It was a black blur flying high through the sky overhead. Dazzle had good eyes, but it was hard for her to make anything out. It just looked indistinct and ominous. That was until the instant it passed right over top of her. In that single split second, the unicorn could swear that in the middle of the darkness she saw an all too familiar face. She stepped forward, though the dark object had long since passed.

"Arc?" she whispered to herself, the frightening nightmare she had awakened from coming instantly back to her. "Is that you?"

* * *

><p>AN: End chapter one. Here we have mostly just the setup. I's meant to introduce you to Dazzle and Radiant and to a lesser extent Midnight and Hopesong. The two unicorns appearing in the final scene are intended to be Stormsong (musical restaurant owner pony) and ShadowMist (filly who knows Twilight Sparkle), characters designed by Armony and MyLittlePonyTales respectively from the Canterlot forums, used with permission. Thanks to them both and everypony else who gave me permission to use their characters (there will be lots more cameos in later chapters). Anyway, thanks for reading. Hopefully you're interested to read more.


	3. Fighting is Unpleasant

A/N: Alright. Here comes the second chapter. Sorry for the wait. I had wanted to get it out much sooner...

* * *

><p>Dazzle was still shock at what she had just seen. What had all of that been about? The ground started to shake, some kind of crystal had engulfed the castle and then some berserk wolf attacked them randomly? None of it was normal. The black figure she had seen flying from the castle bothered her the most though. Why had it looked like Arcana to her for a split second? That just didn't make sense.<p>

More than anything though, it worried her. From her classes, Dazzle had learned that magic worked in very mysterious and unusual ways. She thought about her dream of the night before. Seeing Arc engulfed in that darkness there then seeing her again somehow in that awful darkness over the castle, it was alarming. She hoped it wasn't some sort of omen she was seeing. Perhaps her magic was trying to tell her her friend was in grave danger? Thoughts like that made her incredibly antsy, though she tried her best to stay as smiley as ever.

After things had calmed down, the unicorn from the restaurant La Fleur Canterlot, who introduced herself as Stormsong, had lead Dazzle and the other bystanders who had been there on the scene into her restaurant. The guard mare had flown off to help fight off other beasts like the wolf who were apparently still besieging Canterlot.

"So... um... what are we going to do about this?" asked the black-pelted unicorn filly, now inside the restaurant with Dazzle. She had said earlier that her name was ShadowMist.

"I don't think there's much any of us can do about something like this..." said Stormsong quietly. "I mean... this is beyond what any one of us can do anything about. We just have to trust the REA ponies can help set things right."

"Maybe we should still try and help somehow?" said Dazzle smiling anxiously, worried for Arcana. "There has to be something we can do?"

"I could never..." Stormsong started, shaking her head. Both these unicorns struck Dazzle as the shy type. She never saw much reason to be shy. Most ponies were nice enough. If she could help anypony by extending a helping hoof, she was happy.

"I just can't believe the castle..." ShadowMist muttered quietly. "I guess Twilight won't be getting that book she wanted from the princess..."

"The princess?" Stormsong questioned. "You mean you were on your way to the castle?"

"I work at a library in Ponyville," said the filly, shrugging slightly. "Though mostly I just end up as a sort of book courier for the mare who runs the library, Twilight Sparkle."

"That sounds like lots of fun!" said Dazzle brightly. "I love books."

"It's... alright..." said ShadowMist, looking not too satisfied. "I mean it's good pay for not too much work..." Dazzle noticed that this filly still didn't have a Cutie Mark.

"I'm positive you'll find something you really love doing if you just keep looking!" Dazzle cheerfully replied, smiling at her new friend.

"Er... thanks..." ShadowMist spoke, looking not entirely sure how to react. "But I'm not really sure this is what we should be talking about..."

"I'm wondering what that crystal is..." said Stormsong in a shy voice, looking downward. "I wonder if your librarian friend would know?"

"Twilight?" ShadowMist spoke. "Maybe... She does read more than almost anypony in all of Equestria... but..."

"Not even the princess herself saw this coming..." Stormsong finished. "She would have escaped or stopped it if she had..."

"I wish Arc was here," said Dazzle, frowning. "She's the smartest pony I know. She knows all about strange magical stuff..."

"Who is this Arc? Didn't you say her name earlier?" ShadowMist asked, tilting her head.

"She's like my best friend ever!" Dazzle started excitedly. Her mood then sunk. "Except she disappeared about a year ago..."

"That's sad," said Stormsong in a low voice, shaking her head.

"Yeah..." Dazzle said, her head hung. She sighed.

"So are there any other particularly knowledgeable ponies around you think could solve this?" Stormsong asked, looking at ShadowMist.

"Well, there's Twilight's friend the Zebra... but she lives deep in that scary Everfree Forest..." said ShadowMist giving her own sigh. "So she'd be even harder to get to..."

"If you're looking for ponies with a lot of strange knowledge, there's nopony better than old Lexis in Fillydelphia," a new voice suddenly said. Dazzle looked up to see a blue unicorn mare with waves as her cutie mark.

"Oh?" Dazzle started, smiling as she stared at the new pony.

"It's Aqua Marine. I travel all throughout Equestria, selling the beautiful wonders of the ocean to anypony willing to appreciate them," the mare replied in a kind voice.

"Nice to meet you, Aqua!" Dazzle called, smiling. "I'm Dazzle Dawn and these are two really nice ponies I just met, ShadowMist and Stormsong."

"Nice to meet you all," Aqua Marine said, nodding at the others.

"Yes," said Stormsong, smiling back. "But about this Lexis pony?"

"I've never met him myself, but you hear a lot of different things when you're on the road all the time," said Aqua. "Apparently he was once some big shot scholar. Now he's just an eccentric old stallion who spends his time collecting obscure old books."

"Maybe I should go look for him?" Dazzle started, nodding. She wanted something to do. If her magic was trying to guide her to Arcana, she couldn't stand still. She needed to leave Canterlot.

"What will that get you?" asked ShadowMist. "There's no way of knowing this guy would even know anything. Stormsong is right, for something as big as this, anything we ordinary ponies try is probably just getting in the way of the REA."

"Isn't it best to still try and help?" asked Dazzle brightly.

"You're a strange one," said Aqua with a soft laugh. "Most ponies would be a lot more uneased by something this big... like these two are." She motioned toward the other two unicorns.

"I am worried," said Dazzle, looking up, thinking about Arcana some more. "Something about it doesn't feel right... But that's kind of why I can't just sit still..."

"You'll be killed," said Stormsong, concerned. "That guard pony said there were more beasts like that wolf out there..."

"I say you should go for it," said Aqua, nodding. "I mean, everything can't stop just because of what happened. I know I don't intend to stop running my store."

"I suppose that much is true," said Stormsong. "Canterlot still needs to eat too, so I can't close."

ShadowMist looked around and sighed. "I guess I could try and get back to Twilight... Maybe she does know something after all..."

"Then it's settled!" said Dazzle with a nod. "We'll all do our part to help everypony. I'll go to Fillydelphia and find Mr. Lexis and see what he knows. I"ll find Arc too!"

"Good luck," said Stormsong.

"Yeah," nodded ShadowMist.

Dazzle Dawn felt confidence building inside of her. It was her time to finally put everything she had learned in school to test. Even when faced with all these terrible things, she was going to do everything in her power to make Canterlot smile again. More than that, she was going to uncover the truth and she was going to find and save Arcana! That much she was positive of.

* * *

><p>Several hours of fighting had passed, leaving the young pegasus Radiant Steel exhausted. She had never seen anything like this. She was used to wearing her ceremonial gold guard armor, but earlier that day everypony in her company had been outfitted with more sturdy and battle ready dull gray armor and had been given spiked combat shoes to maximize their offensive capabilities. This was clearly necessary too.<p>

It was as if all the large, non-pony creatures anywhere near Canterlot had all at once decided to lay siege to the city. Securing the streets and ensuring the citizens were protected had been quite the task. After an entire day of fighting the beasts off, things had finally calmed down.

Radiant's entire company had been assembled outside Canterlot REA headquarters. Company B of the Fourth Battalion of the "Princess' Own" First Brigade was under the command of none other than Radiant's father, Major Steeledge. Company B was exclusively comprised of Garrison Forces charged with protecting the Castle and all of Canterlot and the surrounding from those who meant it harm.

Major Rufous Steeledge stood tall, facing the company, fresh claw marks showing red across his face. The argument she had had with her father that morning was the furthest thing from her mind as Radiant faced him now, in line with fifty or so other ponies assembled to meet this latest disaster. No, Radiant stood firm with nothing but respect for the stallion before her. She was ready to do whatever he said.

"Company B, attention!" Rufous barked at his subordinates. "I'm sure you'll all very much aware of why you've been assembled here this evening! Strange occurrences have besieged our fair Canterlot! Her Majesty the Princess and her sister have been imprisoned by the dark crystal! All the while, some strange ailment has stricken the creatures of the land, causing them to all go berserk with lust for blood!"

Rufous paused and stomped toward the soldiers. "After a fierce day of fighting, Canterlot has been secured," the Major started. "However, grave news has arrived through REIN reports. Canterlot is not the only place where this madness has arisen!" Rufous' voice grew more grave and serious. "No, reports indicate similar incidents occurring throughout Equestria. Canterlot is secure for now, but the same cannot be said of the towns and cities throughout this land where the REA has less presence."

"Orders from the top have come in," Rufous continued speak loudly and clearly. "Company B is to split in three. Half of you will stay here in Canterlot on Garrison detail, directly under my command. Those of you in Lieutenant Pike's unit are being switched to the field. You'll be deployed immediately to Hoofington."

"Yes, sir!" First Lieutenant Sterling Pike and his ponies called back readily, standing at the ready. Lieutenant Pike, a stallion almost as tough as Radiant's father, had been the pegasus' direct superior for a long time. However, after their most recent argument Radiant had been switched to another unit.

"Those of you under Lieutenant Saber shall also be switched to Field detail. Your destination is Fillydelphia. You'll deploy immediately as well," the Major shouted.

Radiant nodded. Lieutenant Saber's platoon was where she had been placed. She was to deploy. She'd never been on field detail before. Garrison was all she had ever known. Still, she was ready. For Equestria, Celestia and the REA she would not fail, no matter what task she was given.

"Yes, sir!" Radiant called back with the others.

"Alright, dismissed!" Rufous shouted to the crowd in a strong voice. "Further orders shall come from your platoon leaders!"

With that, Radiant's father turned and began to stomp away, his two platoons following behind him in a synchronized march. Pike addressed his ponies briefly, and followed suit, beginning the long march south to Hoofington. Finally, Second Lieutenant Azure Saber, Radiant's platoon leader, stepped out and turned to the remaining platoon. A strong military mare Radiant had long admired, Saber was a royal blue unicorn with a blonde mane worn in an up-do. Standing there in her armor facing them, she looked particularly dignified.

"Alright ponies, we must be off!" she addressed her unit as they nodded to her. "We're to rendezvous with a platoon from the 13th Cataphract Regiment outside the Whitetail Woods. From there we'll continue Southwest past Manehatten to Fillydelphia. Understood?"

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Radiant and the nine others in her unit replied in unison.

"Then we deploy!" Saber called as she turned around. "Onward, ponies!"

With that, the full platoon of 11 ponies began to march steadily away from Canterlot. They however weren't allowed to get very far before they were disrupted. Somepony suddenly came cantering toward them. Radiant didn't recognize her.

"Wait!" this strange pony shouted. "Did I hear you right? Did you say you ponies are deploying to FIllydelphia?" It was some unicorn mare with a green mane, blue pelt and a vacant, happy look on her face.

"That's right, ma'am," Saber said, trotting toward the other unicorn. "What of it?"

"Ooh! Can I come?" the unicorn asked cheerfully. "I really, really want to go to Fillydelphia, and I think it would be more fun than going all alone..."

Radiant stared at the pony stupefied. She just couldn't be serious, could she? Either way, Radiant felt the need to speak up.

"Haven't you been paying attention to anything that happened today? Canterlot- no,all of Equestria, is under assault by some sort of terrible disaster!" Radiant stepped forward and shouted at the foolish unicorn. "The REA hasn't the time at the moment to be foalsitting upstart mares like you. We're deploying for war!"

"Wait, I know you!" the unicorn started like she hadn't heard a thing Radiant had said. "You're the pegasus who saved me from that wolf earlier! You flew off before I had a chance to thank you! So... um..." the pony giggled softly then smiled. "Thanks!"

Radiant was confused for a moment. She didn't remember this far too cheerful pony at all. She had been far more concerned with the wolf at the time though, so she supposed that wasn't a surprise.

"Uh... it was all in the line of duty," said Radiant firmly

"We should be friends," said the unicorn in a soft voice. "I'm Dazzle Dawn!" Radiant was completely taken aback by the ponies all too upbeat attitude.

"Well then, Miss Dazzle Dawn, I'm going to have to insist you leave," she finally said with a frown "This is a military matter. Civilians are currently not being allowed to leave the city."

"But..." said Dazzle, frowning herself momentarily. "I really want to help..."

"The REA appreciates your want to serve Equestria, Miss Dawn," said Saber smiling quietly and nodding to the other. "However Private Steel is right in this case. This is far too dangerous a time for mere civilians to be permitted to leave Canterlot. I'm afraid your request is impossible."

"Oh..." Dazzle sighed, looking down. "Okay..." She looked rather disappointed. Radiant couldn't believe it. This strange pony had honestly expected this half-baked request to work?

"Now then, I apologize but we mustn't waste another moment," said Saber, nodding at Dazzle. The other unicorn smiled weakly and nodded. Saber turned from her. "Forward, ponies. We march!"

The platoon began to move steadily from the outskirts of the city. After several minutes of travel, Saber pulled back from the lead and began to walk in stride with Radiant. Radiant glanced at her.

"Is there something you wanted of me, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Just a word, Private," the other replied. "That incident just now proved to me you still have some work to do when dealing with civilians."

"I said nothing false," Radiant defended herself. She wasn't going to get reprimanded yet again, was she? Hadn't she had enough of that today...?

"You were condescending," said Saber, shaking her head. "Tact is important for a soldier. We of the REA are an extension of Celestia's might. It is fundamental we never abuse that might lest we may damage our Princess' standing with the populace."

"I understand, Lieutenant. But what should I have said in that case? That pony really might not have gotten it any other way," said Radiant with a huff.

"You should have left it in my hooves, Private," said the other. "I appreciate the passion with which you throw yourself into things, but that in itself is dangerous. I am the commanding officer here. Please at least try and defer to me."

"Yes, Lieutenant," Radiant replied, calming down at once. Thinking about it, Saber was entirely right. She really had outstepped her bounds. If she was still in Lieutenant Pike's unit, he'd be screaming at her for that sort of thing. That was to say nothing of what her father might have done. Saber's leadership style was a lot more reserved.

"Now that that's out of the way, I was meaning to ask your opinion of this mess?" Saber started after a moment of silence, nodding as she spoke.

"Mine?" Radiant started, shocked. "Why would you be interested in that?"

"I heard from the major you were one of the first in the Company to bear witness to the dark crystal engulfing the castle. I didn't see it happen myself, I only felt the tremors," the unicorn spoke in a low voice.

"It was bizarre. It erupted rapidly from the ground below, causing it to shake fiercely. No sign of the princesses could be seen as it swallowed the castle whole," said the younger mare.

"To think they're both really imprisoned..." said Saber, looking down. "Equestria needs them. I hate to think what may occur if the sun is never allowed to be lowered from the sky..."

Radiant stopped in her tracks. She hadn't even considered that crucial detail. The sun was still out, unmoved since that morning. As long as Celestia was locked in the crystal, there was nopony who could move the sun. With it locked in the sky above them, Equestria faced further disaster in the form of a scorching heat wave and all the associated problems. They really didn't have much time. The REA needed to set things right and they needed to do it now.

"Damn it! We need to hurry," said Radiant, stomping her hooves. "We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Leave that to the REIN and the V Order of the Honor Guard," said Saber, shaking her head. "Uncovering information is their field. Protecting the citizenry is ours."

Radiant frowned. Her older brother, Steel Dagger, was a member of the V Order, also known as "The Shroud". This order, which specialized in intelligence and counterintelligence, was considered shady by some factions both inside and out the REA. Radiant wasn't sure what to think of them as a whole, but her father sure didn't think fondly of them. Dagger, a bit of a shifty character himself, had joined largely to spite him. If he was an example of the sort they employed, Radiant had considerable doubts about trusting them with something so serious. Still, Saber was right when it came to what their primary concern should be.

"I suppose you're right. Protecting the ponies of Fillydelphia should be our only concern for now," said Radiant, nodding firmly.

"That's right," Saber said in accordance. "There is only so much a singly pony can do in this world. It's imperative we remember that."

"I'll do my best to, Lieutenant," Radiant replied dutifully.

The conversation died off soon after that. The platoon marched for over an hour, staying relative quiet and in line with one another. Soon the Whitetail Woods could be seen just on the horizon. Radiant was surprised they had made it so far without encountering some sort of beast. Perhaps they had abandoned the roads and wilds entirely in favor of the cities? If so, they really needed to hurry. Fillydelphia was a large city, but it had very light REA presence, relying mainly on militia. They were sure to be short-hooved and vulnerable.

It was just as the pegasus was having those thoughts that a terrible roar could be heard in the distance. It was not the sort of sound a pony would make. No, this was the sound of something large and powerful. It was unlike any roar Radiant had heard.

"What was that sound?" one of the stallions in the platoon shouted in alarm.

"The other platoon might be in danger! Ponies, make haste! We ride to their aid!" Saber shouted out, staring ahead at the forest from which the sound had come.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" everypony replied in a grave tone. The entire platoon then burst into a sudden gallop in the direction of the woods. Slowly the battlefield came into view. Radiant was stunned.

"No..." she muttered. "What's happened...?"

There before them was the entire platoon from the 13th regiment. A good 15 fully armored ponies stood there, all completely motionless, each locked in a prison of stone. At the center of the field of statues there was a horrible beast. Its body was like a massive buffalo, but it's head was like a boar. It had giant tusks and horns, a long, thick neck and a body covered in thick armor-like scales. The whole thing had a deep purple hue to it and glowing red eyes.

"What is that?" one of the ponies in Radiant's platoon asked.

"I believe it's a beast called a catoblepas. Like the cockatrice it has the ability to turn ponies to stone" said Saber, dismayed. "But this is wrong... this creature isn't supposed to be found in Equestria... They come from the same far off lands the zebras call home..."

"Then how did it get here?" somepony demanded, fear in his voice.

"It doesn't matter how it got here!" Radiant shouted, ready. "It's here, so we have to stop it before our comrades come to further harm!"

"That's right!" some of the other ponies echoed the call. They began to rush forward, galloping toward the beast.

"Wait!" Saber called. "It's dangerous to just charge in like this..." Noticing much of her unit was getting away from her, the unicorn acquiesced and started to charge with them. "Fine! Everypony, charge! Take that creature down as swiftly as possible!"

Radiant took to the skies and rushed directly at the large beast. She slammed her spiked battle shoes into the beast's back, but it hardly made a dent. The beast threw its head back then and attempted to skewer Radiant with its horns. She darted back to avoid the attack and stared down, looking for a part of the beast's body that seemed more vulnerable. Finally, she decided to just go for the head. Sure it was dangerous, the scales didn't look as thick there.

"Wait!" suddenly a pony called out. Radiant noticed a lone pony lifting herself off the ground from behind many of the petrified soldiers. She looked a little bruised and battered from a fierce fight, but was still petrifaction free. "All of you stop, it'll just turn you to stone like everypony else! All it needs to do is hit you with its breath!"

Radiant looked down at this mare. She was an earth pony, brown in color with a short blue mane. She was clad in heavy battle armor and wore a headband on her head. Radiant knew instantly this was a pony from the platoon they were supposed to meet up with. She flew down towards her.

"You said it uses its breath?" Radiant started, suddenly realizing the need to proceed more carefully.

"Yes!" the earth pony replied. "That's how it got everypony. Miraculously I'm the only one left!"

Just then, the beast let out a torrent of dark, putrid foggy breath that upon contact petrified three ponies from Radiant's unit instantly.

"No..." said Saber, rushing forward. "You beast!" she shouted. Her horn lit up, and from it arose her signature magic, a bright shining sword of light attached to her horn. She lowered her head and charged, ready to slice the beast with her sword. Jumping to dodge a second stream of breath from the monster, the unicorn then made her attack, cutting deep into the catoblepas' flank. It howled in pain and then snorted in anger.

Suddenly the beast began to rush madly ahead. It threw an earth pony from Radiant's unit high into the sky violently with its awesome might before letting out another blast of its fearsome stone breath. This time, two more ponies were left encased in rock.

"Come! Help us fight it before we lose anypony else!" Radiant told the brown mare.

"Right!" the pony shouted, at the ready. The two of them charged at the beast valiantly.

A couple unicorns from Radiant's unit began to fire projectile magic at the catoblepas, getting its attention. The beast clearly did not take these attacks well. It screeched and charged the unicorns, stopping to assault them with a punishing wave of its breath.

Radiant suddenly felt afraid. She recognized they were losing. It was her fault too. Her brashness had got the best of her again. Her anger at this beast, her desire to do good by her fellow soldiers, it had propelled her forward before the order was given and the others had followed her. Now they were all going to be petrified by this monster. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Lieutenant Saber, who continued to slash at the beast with her magic sword while avoiding its breath.

"What are you doing?" shouted the earth pony from the cataphract unit in a fearless voice. "Weren't we going to fight it?"

Radiant shook her head as she snapped back to her sense. None of that mattered right now. They had to keep fighting. They couldn't just give up. Saber was still fighting. Radiant could do the same. She flew down and began to pound at it with her spiked shoes. The earth pony likewise kicked at the beast again and again, while jumping every attack it tried to make. Amidst the assault from the two ponies, Saber prepared her next attack. She rushed with her sword held high, and leapt high for a massive downward slash. The catoblepas jerked just enough to the right of the attack that while it cut deep, it was not fatal. The monster then powerfully fought its way several steps back and unleashed a massive stream of breath in Radiant's direction.

"I won't let you touch another pony in my unit!" Saber shouted. before Radiant could react to anything, her lieutenant used her magic to throw Radiant fiercely backwards into a tree. This left the unicorn vulnerable though. The beast turned its heavy head toward Saber, the horrible breath finding the pony's skin. Saber was left encased in stone.

Radiant's eyes went wide. This just wasn't happening. Now it was just her, the earth pony mare, a wounded earth pony from her unit and another pegasus that had escaped the stone breath by staying a good distance back from the action. The catoblepas looked severely weakened, but it was still standing and still very dangerous. It roared again and stared at Radiant. Then it began to charge like an enraged bull, straight for her. Desperate, she flew up into the tree to avoid the charge. It began to fire its breath upwards at her. The tree branches withered upon contact with the toxins while she tried to go even higher to avoid her stony fate. Soon, she escaped the tree and took high to the sky, looking down at the beast as it struggled to keep its head held up.

Then something unexpected happened. A massive stone suddenly collided powerfully with the beast's side, right where Saber had cut it earlier. The catoblepas' legs buckled from the pain and it fell on its side. Seizing the opportunity, Radiant flew down rapidly, her spiked hooves held out. Bravely she swooped down and struck it right between the eyes. It howled madly then collapsed, the pain of its wounds forcing it into unconsciousness.

Radiant panted heavily as she landed on the ground. Was it over? The earth pony mare and the other pegasus approached her and the battered, immobile beast. It wasn't going to get back up. Radiant sighed in relief as she let herself calm down.

"Wow..." said the earth pony, galloping toward them. "Finally got him. That was some fight..."

"Just who threw that rock?" asked Radiant, looking around. The rock had clearly been thrown by unicorn magic, but there were no unicorns left un-petrified in either unit. Radiant kept scanning the horizon for somepony, then she saw her. She flew toward her. She couldn't believe it. it was the green-maned idiot unicorn from before. It was the one who had called herself Dazzle Dawn.

"You followed us?" asked the other pegasus. Radiant had never worked with this stallion before, but she was pretty sure his name was Bolt Driver.

"I'm sorry..." said Dazzle. "But I just really feel it is important I get to Fillydelphia." She smiled and trotted toward them. "I really have to do my part. I just had to follow you guys."

"You're really a crazy pony," said Radiant, shaking her head. "Something seriously wrong with you, coming out this far after us..."

"You know, she is the one who saved the day here. That was a pretty awesome blow she scored with that rock," said the earth pony mare, smiling. "You should lighten up."

"Idiocy is still idiocy regardless of the situation," said Radiant sternly.

"I wonder if you're qualified to speak on the matter of idiocy," said Driver in a barbed voice. Radiant was taken aback by the hostility. She however wasn't given a chance to react to it. Somepony else caught her attention.

"Poor guy..." suddenly Dazzle spoke. She trotted toward the catoblepas. "He's suffering..."

Radiant's eyes went wide. This pony really was crazy! "Hey? What do you mean by that? That stupid thing deserves all the suffering in the world for what it did..."

"But he'll die at this rate," said Dazzle in a sad voice.

"Good!" Radiant shouted. "Actually, why don't we just put the monster out of its misery now?"

"But look..." said Dazzle, pointing to the creature. Slowly the purple color dissipated, changing to a more natural dark brown. The redness of the eyes followed with it.

"So what?" shouted Radiant. "It still did this to my comrades!" She pointed to all the frozen ponies strewn about.

"Catoblepas is a creature that only eats plants. It keeps its head always pointed down so that it doesn't petrify others. It uses its breath only in self defense," said Dazzle giving a firm nod. "It wouldn't have done this on its own. It's all the purple stuff's fault."

"How do you know so much about the cato-whatever-it-is?" asked the earth pony, walking toward them, giving a shrug.

"My best friend Arc really, really loves unusual creatures from throughout the world," said Dazzle smiling and tilting her head. "She used to tell me all about them all the time."

"That's great!" Driver started, flying toward them. "Find your friend. She could tell us how to cure the petrification!"

"Okay," said Dazzle, smiling. She then frowned. "But I don't know where she is right now, so finding her might be hard..."

"What do you mean?" asked the earth pony.

"She disappeared," said Dazzle, shaking her head. "Actually, that's why I'm so desperate to get to Fillydelphia. I keep having scary nightmares about her and seeing her in weird places. I'm really getting worried."

"Oh? And why Fillydelphia?" asked Radiant, scrupulous.

"Somepony told me there was a really wise pony there who knew all sorts of unusual knowledge," said Dazzle cheerfully. "I'm not sure he'll know anything, but it's at least a place to start..."

"This is silly," said Radiant, giving a huff as the unicorn suddenly began to tend to the wounded beast.

"Hey, but what if this wise pony knows something about how to cure this petrification?" asked the earth pony in a cool voice.

"That's a good point," said Radiant, nodding. "And we were deployed to Fillydelphia in the first place..."

"Tell me you're not considering continuing with the orders?" Driver shouted, clearly fed up. "Our unit was destroyed. Our platoon leader has been lost. Clearly the thing to do is to return to Canterlot and find reinforcements!"

"And leave Fillydelphia undefended?" Radiant shouted. "They need us!"

"There are an ordinary civilian and four soldiers here, one wounded. We're not worth anything to an entire city!" Driver retorted bitterly. "If you actually stopped to think, maybe you'd see that."

"Just what is your problem with me?" Radiant shouted, angry. "I don't even know you!"

"That you even have to ask proves how thick you are," Driver snarled. "This whole incident is all your fault. You acted without orders and got our platoon wiped out. It was a mistake for Lieutenant Saber to ever accept you into our ranks!"

"You-!" Radiant fumed, about ready to strike at the other pegasus. "I didn't even see you attack once in the fight just now once! You just hovered about, watching everypony else risk their lives!"

"I was waiting for an opening! I actually think about what I'm doing, unlike a certain pony who wouldn't have even been accepted into the REA if her father wasn't the Major!" Driver continued to argue.

Radiant finally exploded. Maybe it really was all her fault. At least some of it surely was. She could admit that much. That didn't mean she had to take all this from this guy. No. This coward didn't deserve to speak to her like this. She gave a low growl and prepared her hooves for a collision course with the other pegasus' face.

"Stop fighting!" Dazzle suddenly raised her voice. "It's just not nice." The unicorn's horn lit up and her magic began to hold Radiant back.

"This filly's right," said the earth mare, trotting between the two pegasi unafraid of getting caught in the middle of their argument. "You guys were a little reckless in your charge, but as you can see my unit didn't fare much better... and we had more time to plan..."

Radiant struggled and growled, not caring, She just wanted to hit the other pegasus in the face for what he had said. Nothing else mattered in her state of ire.

"Umm," said Dazzle in a quiet voice as she stepped toward the male pegasus. "Maybe we can split up? You can take the injured pony back to Canterlot and ask for your reinforcements while the rest of us continue to Fillydelphia."

"Not bad," said the earth pony, nodding in accordance. "You'd make a fine soldier with that kind of thinking."

"I could never do something that calls for so much violence," said Dazzle shaking her head firmly. "But thanks!"

"Fine with me," said Driver laughing. "I'd actually love to give the report of what happened here personally." The male pegasus glared at Radiant as he said this.

"You little-!" Radiant started, fuming.

"Cool it," said the earth pony. "it's already decided. Arguing now is just a waste of energy.."

Radiant gave a sigh and cooled down. This pony was right. There was no point continuing this. Not in a situation like this.

"Fine!" said Radiant, giving a huff, hardly in a good mood.

"Let's go then!" said the earth pony. "The name is Rally, by the way!"

"Ooh! I'm Dazzle Dawn!" Dazzle called excitedly. "I just love making new friends."

Radiant shook her head. This unicorn was going to be a constant annoyance. She could already tell.

* * *

><p>AN: Heh. Here we get things moving along a little more. Mostly just set up for the coming adventure. It actually took a lot more effort getting Dazzle and Radiant to travel together than I thought it would. About the catoblepas. I was kind of unsure about what kind of legendary monster to use there. I wanted something that used petrification, since I want to leave killing in this story to a bare minimum. A basilisk was the first thing that came to mind, but I inevitably decided this was kind of silly. Both it and gorgons petrify by sight. It just didn't seem like so many ponies would all fall for a sight based attack one after the other. I then remembered a massive armored bull/boar beast from the Castlevania games that used a breath based petrification. After further researching catoblepas, I figured it'd work and went with it. Besides that not a lot else to say about this chapter. It was pretty much just a further introduction to our key characters Radiant and Dazzle. Thanks again to MyLittlePonyTales and Armony for the uniconrs in the opening scene. Thanks to Bronies for Life for Aqua Marine and tanks to Ginger Mint for Rally.


End file.
